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IV. Angiosperms

Monocots

Agavaceae

The century plant family is native to the New World. Plants of this family are primarily found in arid and semi-arid areas as far north as Utah. The inflorescences are produced one in every few to twenty years, are often quite large and fleshy. Most are pollinated by nectar-feeding bats. Agave tequiliana is the source of the alcoholic beverage, while Agave sisiliana is the source of sisal.

Typical agave from Mexico and the Florida Keys (Big Pine Key). Bloom stalk was harvested for sugar, alcohol and food. Blooms about every seventeen years, then dies, but leaves many offshoots. A common tropical and desert ornamental; bat pollinated.

Araceae

The aroid family is primarily tropical, with a few members inhabiting temperate swamps and marshes. Many plants are epiphytic or vining in tropical or subtropical forests. The plants exhibit the typical family inflorescence of spiky spadix and enclosing spathe. Colocasia esculenta is the source of yuca, an important starch vegetable in Latin America. Zantedeschia sp.is the classic white "lily".

Nicely variegated vining type philodendron. Good for chloroplast studies. Likes shade and aggressive pinching back.

Branched shrub aroid almost constantly in bloom or fruit with typical spathe and spadix.

Typical vining philodendron, dark green with dark red back on leaves, illustrating light reflection from back of leaf in low light situations, thus reusing light for photosynthesis. The red pigment is an anthocyanin which bleeds from cuts in the plant. Good for contrasting with carotenes and xanthophylls production in chromoplasts. A hemiepiphyte with aerial roots from Brazil.

Almost constant blooming shade loving tropical understory plant with typical aroid spathe and spadix inflorescence.

Arecaceae (Palmae)
The palm family is extensive and widespread, but limited in the United States. The greatest number of species occur in south Florida, including the Florida royal palm, Roystonea elata. Many palms are important economically, such as the coconut palm, Cocos nucifera. The meat, or solid endosperm (copra) from the seed may be dried and pressed for oil, or used as food. It contains many essential fatty acids and is rich in protein and fats. The milk is liquid endosperm and also has good food value, but is primarily used for drinks, such as pinacolada. The seedcoat can be burned to produce a high grade of charcoal. This quality of charcoal can be used for filtering in gas masks but also for art products. The husk of the drupe fruit can be used as planting material for orchids and other tropical plants as well as for fiber. The leaves are often used as building materials and the trunks provide a fancy lumber for furniture. The old, dried inflorescences are even used for dishes and window shades. The coconut palm is sometimes called the tree of life on some Polynesian islands.

A native fan palm from California, Arizona and Mexico. It grows in groves in an oasis environment surrounded by desert. The old leaves are persistent, eventually clothing the trunk, providing roosting and nesting habitat, as well as food for wildlife. This tree was called the "Tree of Life" by the Cocopahs.

Bromeliaceae
This family contains pineapple (Ananas comosus) and Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) as well as many epiphytes and desert species. The greatest diversity in the U.S. is in south Florida (are you surprised?). Many bromeliads bloom in winter, which makes them ideal houseplants and interesting on winter fieldtrips to Florida and Texas. One bromeliad, ball moss, Tillandsia circinnata, occurs in southern Arizona. All but one genus are found in the New World tropics and subtropics. The remaining genus, Pitcairnia is very primitive and is found in West Africa. The biogeographical distribution of bromeliads gives evidence for continental drift (plate tectonics).

A vase-type bromeliad from Florida and the Caribbean. The rosettes are narrow and silvery with pendant inflorescents. Somewhat drought tolerant.

Interesting large bromeliad which blooms with a red and yellow sessile bracteated inflorescence in January. Many guzmanias grow happily in indirect light or even dappled shade.

Both of these specimens are large, robust, spiny leaved examples of semi-epiphytic members of the New World pineapple family. Named after Dave Lellinger, fern botanist at the Smithsonian.

These epiphyte cultivars exhibit variation in inflorescence color. One has maroon-purple inflorescences, the other bright red. The old blooming plant dies after flowering, but produces numerous offshoots.

An interesting epiphyte from Brazil. The large flat inflorescence appears in winter, turns bright pink and produces deep lavender blue flowers. Beautiful!

An epiphyte from Florida through northern South America. Uses roots to hold on to host tree, but obtains moisture from absorption by peltate scales on leaves. At night, the leaves remain cooler than the air temperature, so moisture condenses there from fog and humidity and is absorbed by the plant. The red, many-branched inflorescence is produced in winter. Drought tolerant.

This bromeliad is semi-epiphytic and exhibits variegated leaves with white, purple and green stripes. Nice show of anthocyanin.

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